Envelope-making machine



Nav. 30 1926. 1,609,235

s. R. WYCHERLEY ET AL ENVELOPE MAKING MACHINE Filed April 30, 1923 3 Sheets- Sheet 1' Nov. 30 1926.

S. R. WYCHERLEY ET AL ENVELOPE MAKING MACHINE ..Fild April so, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 S. R. WYCHERLEY ET AL v ENVELOPE MAKING MACHINE I Filed April 30, 192,3 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 l\ 38\ t v 4, gg "w v 3 5 a as? yww/fl i Patented Nov. 30, 1926.

QUNETED STATES SYDNEY RENODEN \VYCHERLEY, OF BROMLEY, AND \VILLIAM RAMSAY CALDER SMITH, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO SPICERS LIMITED, OF LONDON, ENG- LAND.

ENVELOPE-MAKING IVIACI-ILINE.

Application filed April 30, 1923, Serial No. 635,625, and in Great Britain October 17, 1922.

This invention relates principally to that class of envelope making machines described in British Patent No. 3231 of 1911, but it also relates to similar classes of machines in which the envelope blank having a gummed sealing flap is fed to and travels along with an endless band or bands and chain or chains and during which travel a gumming and folding of non-gummed flaps and afolding of the gummed flap is effected.

.In machines as at present constructed there is the fault that during their operation some of the envelope blanks will get out of alignment, that is to say, become slightly twisted at the point where they are fed to the machine, resulting in the delivery of faulty shaped envelopes at the delivery end of the machine and the object of this invention is to provide means, to prevent the fault just mentioned, affixable at the feed end of the envelope carrying appliances.

The means for properly positioning the envelope blank at the feed end of the machine consists of a series of fingers attached to a rocking bar carried by bell cranks fulcrumed on a shaft or bar carried by the frame, the bell cranks being rocked by a cam or cams to actuate the fingers, such fingers so being shaped and their ends being I so positioned as to form stops for the envelope blank, the position of the ends of the fingers being such as to engage the front edge of the blank at points where a perfect position of the envelope blank is ensured for a proper feed the envelope blank as it is drawn by a revolving disc having rubber studs or other suitable appliances down against the fingers from the spaced out pile of envelope blanks lying. on the feed board. Immediately after the envelope blanks are positioned against the fingers such lingers are lifted to permit the disc to carry the blanks on to the travelling bands or chains and, after suchblank has traveled a certain distance the fingers are lowered for the edge of the next blank to be drawn against them. The invention will be clearly understood from the following description in connection with the annexed drawings in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of the feed end of the machine.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-8 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 414 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view of amachine with the travelling or carrier appliances removed.

In the drawings only the part of the machine to which the invention is applied is shown the travelling bands, chains, etc., be- 111g, for the most part, omitted for the sake of clearness and the gumming and folding appliances being entirely omitted.

On the frame 1 of the machine at each side of the latter, is a bracket 2 carrying a fixed bar 3, the latter carrying yokes 4 from which depend guard rods 5 which pass over the travelling bands and chains 6 to keep the envelopes blanks on said tiaveling bands, the guard rods 5 being held in any adjusted position in the yokes by screws 7.

On the bar 3 are also mounted two bell cranks 8, 8 held together by two rods 9, 10 one at each end of the bell cranks 8, 8. The rod 9 carries at one or at both ends a roller 11 which rides on a wheel 12 having two cams 13, 13 on its periphery, or such wheel 12 may be formed with a cam race engaged by the roller 11.. The wheel 12 is journaled on a shaft or axle 14 carried by the stand ards 2.

On the shaft 1 1 is the feed disc or roller 15 having two diametrically arranged pairs of india rubber studs 16, 16, this feed disc or roller 15 being positioned in the centre lines of the envelope blank 17, as seen in Figure 1.

The rod 9, when the roller 11 rides on the periphery of the wheel 12, is controlled by a spring 18 secured at one end to the standard 2 and the other to the rod 9 to normally keep the roller 11 on the wheel 12, but if the wheel 12 be formed with a cam race such spring can be dispensed with, as will be understood.

The rod 10 carries fingers 19 which are formed preferably from wire securely held to blocks 20, which are secured to the rod 10 by screws 21 after such fingers have been adjusted to their positions suitable to the formation of the envelope blank 17 In Fig. 1 of the drawings four fingers are shown, they being positioned on the rod 10 at their proper distances apart and have their end portions so shaped as to rest upon the feed board 22 at such positions as to engage the front edge of the envelope blank when properly positioned, the two fingers on each side of the longitudinal centre being positioned to respectively engage the envelope blank at the portion which will form the corner of the envelope when made up and at or near the ends of the side flaps.

The bell cranks 8, the feed roller 15, and cam roller 12 work in unison, that is to say, during one revolution of the cam wheel 12 it rocks the bell cranks 8 twice and the feed roller 15 feeds two envelope blanks and during such revolution the fingers 19 are reciprocated twice.

Just as an envelope blank is fully drawn off the pile by one set of the studs 16, 16 of the feed roller 15, one cam 18 is leaving the roller 11 at which moment the spring 18 will rock the bell crank 8 to bring the ends of the fingers 19 against the feed board 22 ready to arrest the next envelope blank. On approximately a half revolution of the cam wheel 12 the fingers 19 will rest on the feed board and, just at the end of this movement the studs 16, 16 of the feed roller 15 which are nearest the envelope will act upon the uppermost envelope blank and pull it down against said fingers to properly position it. Just as this occurs the cam of the roller 12 on the opposite side to such studs will act on the roller 11 and rock the bell crank S to raise the fingers 19 to allow the envelope blank to be drawn off the pile and topass between the rods 5 and chains 6. Immediately this occurs the cam will leave the roller 11 and the spring 18 will rock the bell crank 8 to move the fingers 19 into position to engage the next envelope blank and the operation just described is repeated.

What we do claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an envelope-making machine, an envelope blank feed board, blank-advancing means beyond the same, reciprocable stop fingers above and movable into and out of engagement with said feed board, and constantly revoluble means for successively engaging envelope blanks on the feed board and operative to feed the same to said stop fingers to properly position such blanks against them and to convey the blanks successively to said advancing means after removal of the fingers from the feed board.

2. In an envelope-making machine, an envelope feed board, blank-advancing means beyond it, blank-feeding means, and stops above and movable toward said feed board to position each blank and movable away from said feed board to release the blank after being positioned, the feeding means being operative to feed the released blank to the blank-advancing means.

3. In an envelope-making machine, an envelope blank feed board, a feed roller having projecting blank-feeding means thereon, and stops operative to arrest and position each blank during engagement therewith of the projecting feeding means and to then release the blank for advance by the projecting feeding means on the feed roller.

1. In an envelope-making machine, the combination of an envelope blank feed board, a feed roller above said feed board and cooperative therewith, stop fingers above said feed board and movable toward and'from the feed board for positioning and releasing the envelope blanks, and means operative to intermittently retract the finger with respect to the feed board.

In an envelope-making machine, an envelope blank feed board, a revoluble feed roller cooperative therewith and having blank-feeding portions thereon, stop fingers movable toward and from the feed board to position each blank and to release it for advance by the engagement therewith of the blank-tieeding portions of the feed roller, and means operative in timed relation with the feed roller for setting the stops to position a blank as it is engaged by the blankfeeding portions on the feed roller and to then release the blank to permit advance thereof by the blank feeding portions of the feed roller.

6. In an envelope-making machine, an envelope blank feed board, feeding means cooperative therewith, stop fingers for positioning the blanks before their advance by the feeding means, said fingers being movable toward the feed board to arrest and position each blank and rctractible to release the blank for advance, rocking means for supporting the stop fingers, the stop fingers being adjustable to accommodate them to the shape of the blank, and means for actuating the rocking means to set the stop fingers in blank positioning and releasing positions re spectively.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

SYDNEY RENODEN WYCHERLEY.

WILLIAM RAMSAY CALDER SMlTH. 

